With the onset of the rains, which are usually at the beginning of November, but were delayed this year, those that often are involved in illegal activities within the Park look to return home to plant crops on their small holdings.
Unfortunately, elephants sometimes also leave protected areas and can find themselves on farmland amidst human settlements. They are not always after crops, but when they do wander onto farms, they can do huge amounts of damage in a relatively short amount of time. For this reason, the Trust devotes a considerable amount of energy and resources to pushing them back into the protected areas and out of danger. This serves to keep the elephant out of danger, but also buys extensive goodwill from communities who suffer loss of crops on a yearly basis, and sometimes even life when forced to protect their farms.